Crude prices on the up

24 July 2009

Crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange have continued to rise in recent trading, increasing by around one dollar compared to yesterday's prices.

A barrel of crude for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading at $67.21 (£40.80) at 03:53 Eastern Time this morning.

Spot prices for dated Brent crude also rose ever closer to the $70 mark, hitting $69.04 by 04:38 in electronic overnight trading.

In Asian trading on Friday, crude prices edged back after making large gains on overnight trading on Thursday, Dow Jones reports.

A drop on the Asian markets may have come from a slightly stronger dollar, commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia David Moore told the news provider.

Toby Hassall, a research analyst at Commodity Warrants Australia, added that there is a belief that demand for fuel will return in the near future.

Nonetheless, such a belief seemed to exist earlier in the week, but further increases in US stockpiles proved expectations to be wrong at this stage and prices dropped back slightly.

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